Start To Fall
by ashestoashesanddusttodust
Summary: It begins before this, but memory is fickle when it can be changed.


**Start To Fall  
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**A Word**: Why, no, I'm not done with the game, but I do this thing where my mind spins tales to try and make sense of things. Especially when it just blatantly doesn't make much sense to me. So, AU-ish wonderings here.

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_"-it's over!"_

_"No, we can still salvage some of this. We just have to act quickly. Get an agent in to take out the boy before he can merge."_

_"He played us for fools! Do we even have anyone left that hasn't been in yet? You saw what he did to everyone exposed to him. The machine is off and he still managed to-"_

Metal grinds and light flashes.

Slow and weak.

Like rain on a windshield during the middle of the day. The case is over and it's time to go back in for the damned paperwork. Always in triplicate and signed with blood it feels like.

_"Yes, yes. But he hasn't got a hold on these three. Not yet."_

_"The cops? We can't use them! They won't survive it, they'll be missed."_

_"We already have a handful of dead police. A few more won't raise any notice. Move them!"_

The city streets are empty and Sebastian wonders what prompted the civilians to have the good damn sense to stay inside as Connelly navigates the quiet road. Joseph's pen scratching on paper behind him is interrupted by the call of the radio. "All units, all units; 11-99, expedite cover code 3. Beacon Mental Hospital."

_"These two got curious and started digging when they were told to leave things be, and this one saw a few unfortunate things. We were going to fix their memories before letting them go, but since none of them have been worked on before they'll be perfect for escorting our agent. A police officer's mind should exert enough order on the collective to get her to the target."_

_"False memory complete and ready to be inserted."_

"Hey, maybe it's the ghost of that doctor who went schizo and chopped up all those patients!" Connelly exclaims with a little exaggerated leer and an actual clawed hand. The man must have been spending a lot of time with his kids lately to be that animated for a bunch of bullshit.

"That's not what happened," Joseph cuts in. Quick as ever to refute rumors with facts. "Some patients disappeared. Some kind of scandal?"

"Eh," Connelly shrugs it off and turns his eyes back to the road. "Still gives ya the creeps, doesn't it?"

The radio crackles again and Sebastian idly notes the units already on scene as he privately disagrees. Connelly's talking about ghost stories and boogie men. Things that aren't real, and Sebastian thinks there's plenty of real things that can do better than just give a guy the creeps.

"Joseph," Sebastian turns to look at his partner because, ghost stories aside, rumors are usually the first indication of something being wrong, "you think there's a connection?"

"It's a possibility," Joseph concedes easily for once in his damn life not making Sebastian argue about a possibility. He must be feeling charitable coming off their last case. "I believe the records were sealed."

Huh, must've been a juvenile involved then. There's no other reason for something like that to get sealed unless a bunch of underaged kids were involved.

The radio crackles back up and Dispatch sounds insistent as she repeats herself. "Anyone on scene, respond..."

_"Subjects are fully under."_

_"Inserting Agent Kidman."_

"Dispatch this is Detective Castellanos in 184." A scandal at Beacon Memorial? The name itches at the back of Sebastian's mind. Some thought rolls just out of his reach and he lets it go as he picks up the handmike. A chased thought never stands still, it's always better to let it come back on its own. "What's the situation, over?"

The radio crackles and breaks between words. Too much for him to actually catch any of it. He glances in the rear view mirror at Joseph and Kidman. Joseph's frowning, his mind already working on the problem from a thousand different angles before they're even on scene. Kidman looks out the window unmoved, and Sebastian doesn't have enough of a handle on the rookie to guess what she's thinking about this yet.

_"Memories sealed and taking hold. Subjects ready to be hooked in, sir."_

_"Do it. We don't have any time to waste."_

"Jesus!" Connelly gasps out and swerves as the radio screeches.

Sebastian drops the handmike and grabs for his ears. The sound spikes through his ears and straight into his head like a red hot poker. "Goddammit!"

The painful sound cuts as quick as it started and Sebastian shakes his head hard as he curses the feedback these older squad cars can get sometimes. He scoops the mike up and doesn't try calling back again.

"Detective Kidman," Sebastian directs a probing question at the rookie to get her side of things, "any thoughts?"

"Nothing yet," Kidman doesn't give him anything at all, and that's a damned bad habit that she's going to have to loose fast if she wants to keep her rank. Being a detective isn't like what people see on the TV. You don't get very far by keeping your thoughts to yourself. "I'm sure we'll know everything once we get there."

Sebastian exchanges a quick look with Joseph who smirks a little before nodding. Already knowing what Sebastian's going to do when they get to the scene. It isn't going to be pretty, and maybe a little of the grunt work or babysitting duty will convince Kidman to loosen up some.

"There it is," Connelly says, voice quiet and unneeded as a flash of light dazzles Sebastian for a second.

The hospital is huge and imposing at the end of the street. Red and blue flashes light up the front and an actual fucking lighthouse style beacon rolls along at the top of the highest tower. Connelly lays down on the gas to speed towards the scene and Sebastian grimly prepares himself for anything.

_"Subjects have successfully entered. Begin monitoring vials and readouts."_

_"Pay close attention to Kidman. She starts to show distress we pull her into the holding area for safety. She cannot become tainted before the target is eliminated."_

_"God help her."_

_"No. God help us all."_

**.**

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End file.
